Great News about Cutler!

Credit USAToday for getting some great inside info on Cutler. Jim Corbett‘s article today has some great gems in it. Let’s take a look…

As we’ve heard throughout the off-season, Shanahan has been very impressed with Jay’s leadership.

“It’s not very often you get a quarterback at that age, with that type of ability and that type of leadership skills. He’s been working out here, and he’s done a great job with the receivers and our players in general. And hopefully he can keep on leading. He can’t do it by himself, though. And that’s why we’ve got, I’m hoping, a pretty good supporting cast.”

— Mike Shanahan 6/30/07

But what I really like is that Shanahan has been working close enough to Jay to notice these leadership skills. According to this article the two of them have been spending hours together with Mike Heimerdinger reviewing not only tape on Jay, but also tape on Elway, Manning, Brees and Brady. This is awesome news! I haven’t been this excited about a QB’s development since Jake spent the off-season with Kubiak (and that season we nearly went to the big game).

“We’ve watched Elway, Peyton, Drew Brees, Tom Brady— how they work in the pocket and their feet. It’s been a real learning tool.”

— Jay Cutler 6/30/07

And what was the focus of all those hours of watching tape?

“The clock in your head, that’s what they’ve been preaching here the last couple of weeks with Mike and Dinger. They’ve helped me out tremendously in what I need to attack and look for.”

— Jay Cutler 6/30/07

So, it appears that Shanahan & Company are working hard to help develop Cutler’s speed in the pocket (i.e. reads, check-downs, footwork, etc). If he can put those things together on the field during camp and the preseason, I think we’ll have one heck of a QB come opening day!

And speaking of putting it all together, how does our young QB feel about his newly acquired cast of offensive weapons?

“Having Travis, Daniel and Brandon (Stokley) here, they simplify things for me. They take a lot of guesswork out of my job. I just have to get the ball into their hands. It’s a tribute to coach Shanahan and his desire to win and help make my life easier that he brought these guys in.”

— Jay Cutler 6/30/07

The experience of these players is not going unused. It looks like Jay is soaking up information from them as well.

“Daniel and Brandon both offer advice: ‘You might want to run this a little deeper. This is how Peyton or Tom Brady might do something. They’ve been around some really great quarterbacks, and it helps make my job easier.”

— Jay Cutler 6/30/07

All in all, I think this is great news for all of us Bronco fans! It’s the first article to include details on what Shanahan and Cutler have been working on this off-season. It also points to the fact that Shanahan is PERSONALLY working with Cutler — and that’s great news. I think we have a lot of exciting things to look forward to this season…. and it all starts with our new QB.